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Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2008

Date: Sept. 25, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Criminal Justice


BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP GRANT ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - September 25, 2008)

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Mr. CANNON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

On Tuesday, the life of an Alexandria, Virginia, police officer was spared because he was wearing a bulletproof vest when he was shot in the chest. The officer was shot during a traffic stop on Interstate 395 just outside of Washington, DC, by a man who later took his own life. Fortunately, the officer is expected to make a full recovery.

There are more than 900,000 State and local law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day to keep our community safe, yet we often lose sight of how quickly something as routine as a traffic stop can turn deadly for a police officer. Each year approximately 16,000 State and local officers are injured in the line of duty. In 2007, for instance, 55 police officers were killed by firearms in the line of duty.

Thankfully, many police officers and sheriff's deputies are saved each year by bulletproof vests. The Bulletproof Vest Partnership was created by the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998 as a Department of Justice program to provide funding for bulletproof vests and other body armor to State and local law enforcement.

Since 1999, 40,000 State and local governments have participated in the Bulletproof Vest Program. The program, administered by the Office of Justice Programs, has awarded Federal grants to support the purchase of an estimated 1.5 million vests, including over 800 vests to law enforcement agencies in my home State of Utah, making my police and many police around the country safer.

H.R. 6045 reauthorizes the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program through fiscal year 2012. This legislation enjoys broad bipartisan support and endorsements from a number of law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police.

It is important that we reauthorize this simple and effective program to protect our men and women in law enforcement. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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